


If the road ahead becomes too hard to climb

by Markistoocute



Category: Take That
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-01-19
Updated: 2013-02-09
Packaged: 2017-11-26 02:42:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/645658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Markistoocute/pseuds/Markistoocute
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The boys are embarking on a European tour, all is going well they are about to start a 8 day stint of show at Wembley. But disaster strikes. Will the tour be in jeopardy or will Take That come bouncing back?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. There's a place we used to be

The boys were busy readying themselves in the home dressing room of Manchester Stadium for the first night of the tour; the whole support team was around them making sure everything was in place. In the boys dressing room there was a sense of calm compared with outside, Howard was listening to some DJ tracks to help to keep himself relaxed, Jason was adding the finishing touches to his costume, Gary was pacing round getting worried that they would be late.

“Calm down Gary! We won't be late" Mark said while brushing his teeth.

“Why do you always brush your teeth before we perform?" Howard asked.

“You ask me this every tour; it is because I hate performing with dirty teeth." Mark replied.

"5 minutes everybody let’s get going"

All of a sudden the atmosphere changed; there was a sense of excitement as months of planning fell into place. The boys neared the entrance to the stage, there was a roar from the crowd as the countdown began.  
“3, 2, 1" a cheer erupted as the boys appeared on stage from what appeared to be nowhere.

"You can dance if you like" Mark started then paused to let the audience carry on "you can sing every line of every song" the Crowd finished. Mark carried on with the song with the crowd behind him. "I'm Mark, I’m Howard I'm Jason and I'm Gary and we are Take that" they chanted together. Guitar chords started and greatest day began. As they reached "stay close to me", a confetti cannon exploded, a sea of colour filled the stadium as the confetti fluttered about on the breezes slowly making its way down onto the ground where it was picked up by fans as a memento of the day. All the old classics came out the crowd went wild and the boy started the Pray dance routine  
“Are you guys ever going to get tired of that?” Jason asked after they finished.  
“NO!” The crowd replied.  
Old songs where mixed with new as their latest single, The City, for this all the dancers dressed up as buildings, dancing round as the song progressed the dancers become more organised. The city was tactfully followed by the garden as the mode changed and the tempo slowed a second set of dancers came on and slowly replaced the city with a beautiful countryside screen allowing for a seamless transaction from one song to the next.  
The Slow and melodic theme was carried on with Said it all, it was a striped back performance that really connected with the audience as the atmosphere was full of emotion as every member of the audience connected with the lyrics. But the slow tempo didn’t last too long as the mood was lifted with the old classic relight my fire. Within minutes the crowd was clapping and singing away.  
The rest of the night seemed to flash by in a second and before they knew it, it was time to say goodnight, Gary gave the famous introduction  
“This is the song that brought us back after all these years” but added  
“And with this it is time to say goodnight and thank you for an amazing night!”  
“You have kicked of this tour with a bang, Thank you all so much for coming, we all hope you have had a brilliant night” Howard shouted.  
“I will remember you all forever, Thank you for making the opening night so special” Mark said proudly.  
“Thank you, thank you all so much! We really are the thank you band, but we can’t say it too much, without you we wouldn’t be here so we are eternally grateful” Jason finished before they started in Patience.  
The boys left the main stage and walked along the barrier wishing goodnight to as many fans as possible and all too quickly Mark, Gary, Howard and Jason were back up on stage taking the last bow of the opening night.

The boys made their way back to the hotel, ready for the party that was to follow.  
As they drew up they saw Emma, Dawn and Kate waiting outside to greet them, everyone had huge smiles on their faces. The night had gone fantastically, everyone had enjoyed themselves. All they had to do now was wait and see how well the concert went down with the media. As the boys walked into the hotel bar a huge cheer went up from all the support crew.

 

Gary was awake surprisingly early despite the late night he had had. The adrenalin had been pumping round his body and mixed with the nerves of waiting to see what the media would think of the tour had meant Gary had tossed and turned all night. He got out of bed, careful not to wake Dawn who was still fast asleep. He slipped into his tour hoodie, some trackies and his most comfortable trainer, he had a quick glance at the clock; it was 6oclock “perfect” he thought to himself, he loved it when there were few people around; he went out for a run to pass the time before breakfast.

Gary was still the first one at breakfast but had only been there 5 minutes when a blurry eyed Mark came and sat across the table to him. Mark yawned then said “How come you look so awake?”

“I went for a jog” Gary replied.

“Have you looked at the papers yet?” Mark asked.

“No, not yet I was going to wait for you guys to come down” Gary explained.

“We might as well have a look now I don’t think that Jason and Howard will surface for quite some time, they had just started a dance off when I went to bed” Mark laughed.

“I shall go get the paper then shall I?” Gary said chuckling.  
Gary appeared 5 minutes later with a stack of newspapers beaming.  
“It’s good news then? Mark said smiling  
“Good news? It’s fucking brilliant! We’re on the front page of the sun”  
“That’s amazing! Did any of them pick up on the fact that the confetti canon wasn’t powerful enough and it didn’t have enough lift so it just covered us?” Mark asked sounding worried  
“No Mark they didn’t only you picked up on that!” Gary said with hint of annoyance in his voice.  
“What about the fact that the dancers where not quite in time during the Garden?” Mark asked  
“Mark they were all too swept up by the atmosphere to notice things like that! Even I didn’t notice that some of the dancers where out of time, not every detail has to be perfect, people don’t notice everything, most of the time they are too busy looking at you to notice the smallest detail. Some people can’t see things in that much detail. Mark sometimes you need to sit back and look at the bigger picture” The sound of annoyance in Gary’s voice grew. Mark looked hurt and grabbed the nearest newspapers and opened it in a huff.

“Mark I didn’t mean it like that! I was just trying to say that not everything has to be perfect, you need to pay more attention that went right more than what went wrong, you are always too hard on yourself” Gary said, his voice was full of remorse.  
“I Know I Know, we have this discussion every time we make and album or go on tour, I do try not to worry too much and each time I say to myself not to but I just can’t as hard as I try I always pick my performance to pieces” Mark said, he was a little hurt but he knew where Gary was coming from.

Howard came down half an hour later just as Mark and Gary had finished reading all the reviews  
“What are they like” Howard said nodding his head towards the papers  
“There good, there really good” Gary Said “I have only read one or 2 with anything negative to say”  
“Wow that is amazing I am glad everyone had a good a time is we did, it feels so good to be back performing again, nothing is better than seeing the faces of thousands of happy fans. Howard said still sounding sleepy  
“Who won the dance off then?” Mark asked  
“What dance off … Oh that dance off, I think it was a draw from what I remember but Jason will probably disagree” Howard started  
“What will I disagree with” Jason said as he walked in running his hands through his un-brushed hair  
“Who won are dance off last night!” Howard replied  
“Oh that, I defiantly won that as I didn’t fall over when I did my head spin” Jason laughed  
“I only fell over because you pushed me” Howard protested  
“You two and your contests! Is there any day when you don’t have a contest?” Gary asked  
“I don’t think so!” Howard and Jason said simultaneously.  
Emma and Dawn came down for breakfast at the same time talking about what they were going to wear that night. Gary move up to create space for the girls.  
“Are you two ready to come see the show tonight?” Gary asked  
“Almost I just need to work out what shoes to wear” Dawn replied snuggling up to Gary.  
“Hope you boys are going to live up the the expectations, we have heard a lot about it!” Emma encouraged.  
“I hope we do too! We better have breakfast otherwise we will be late” Gary said  
“Gary Chill we won’t be late, you are always worrying about being late, you need to relax a bit!” Mark chuckled, Gary burst into laughter  
“Ok, Ok I know I just can’t help it!” Gary replied there was a glint in his eye.  
“What are you two up to?” Emma Asked smiling, she loved seeing them all so happy, the boys craved performing and Mark became grumpy when he wasn’t either recording or performing. Both Jason and Howard came back with a ginormous plate of food  
“Are you really going to eat all of that?” Gary asked  
“NO! I’m not that much of a pig!” Jason snorted “We brought enough for you two as well!”  
“You didn’t look like you were going to move to get some grub so we thought that we would bring you some over” Howard stated. They boys finished off breakfast then when back up to their rooms to prepare for the second show while Dawn and Emma went shopping.


	2. There's a picture with you by my side

Within a few hours the boys were back in the stadium preparing for the second show, they could hear the scream of the crowd as the support act, Olly Murs entered the stage. It was weird not having Dawn in the group of dancers preparing to go on stage with them. But the boys knew she was sat inside the barrier eagerly awaiting to see the spectacle that their husbands had been working on for the past year.  
The boys stood behind the stage and had a group hug before the crowd cheered and Olly came off stage. The excitement of the crowd was trickled backstage as the time ticks down till the boys were due on stage drew close, Jason looked out to see a Mexican wave going round the crowd. As the clock struck 8 o'clock and the crowd started counting down. The boys ran on stage for the second night and the 2 hours spectacular went all too quickly.  
Howard fell asleep in the car on the way back to the hotel, the late night and 2 shows in a row had taken a toll on him. Gary and Jason talked about how the audience had been louder than last night and Mark just sat listening to his iPod. Jason woke Howard as they reached the hotel and they all made their way up to their rooms, they didn't want to wear themselves out too early in the tour, they still have 5 more days in Manchester. Dawn and Emma came in a few minutes later after having a wonderful night. Dawn had really seen how much the dancers played in the show and Emma thought that the show was wonderful and wished she could be going again.

Jason was woken by the sound of rain lashing against the window "At least the rain held off for the first 2 days" He thought then turned over and went back to sleep. It was still raining 2 hours later when Mark woke, he stared out across the cityscape admiring the view and how the rain make everything seem that much more beautiful, he stood there for 5 minutes looking as people ran from cars to building and back to cars. He was only disturbed by Gary knocking at his hotel door.   
"I am going out for a jog, do you fancy coming”  
“Yep give me 5 minutes; I will meet you in the lobby”. Mark looked round his room for his running gear. Emma was still asleep when he left for his run with Gary  
“How are you finding the tour so far?” Mark asked Gary  
“Not too bad, I think it if going to be very fun but also very tiring” Gary replied he stopped at the crest of the hill they had been running up   
“Manchester is beautiful isn’t it?” Gary though out loud  
“It is, the hometown gigs are the best, the crowd are always the loudest” Mark responded   
“It will be sad when we move on but we still have 2 more shows in Manchester then it’s on to Sunderland” Gary said as he started to move off again.  
Gary and Mark got back to the hotel just as Howard and Jason had finished breakfast.  
“Are you going to come for a run with us tomorrow?” Gary questioned Howard  
“You have got to be joking! Getting up that early and going out in the cold, I would much rather go to the gym where it is warm!” Howard laughed  
“It was just an offer; I thought that you might want to see the beautiful scenery that is all” Gary said quietly   
“Don’t be silly I would love to come, I haven’t been on a proper run in years, I have never had the motivation to try running but I will give it ago” Howard assured Gary.  
Mark went back to his room to have a shower before he had breakfast. Emma was just waking up.  
“Good morning beautiful, did you enjoy the show last night?” Mark asked as he pulled Emma into an embrace.  
“It was an amazing show; you guys have done yourself proud!” Emma said beaming  
“Eww you’re all sweaty!” She Joked but didn't resist   
“How long is it till you leave?” Mark asked before kissed her on the lips  
“2 hours, I am going to miss you” Emma said into Marks neck  
“Not as much as I am going to miss you” Mark replies “Right I need to go have a shower I will see you a minute”

Howard and Jason were sat in the lobby talking   
“Do you think the show will go as smoothly as it has the first 2” Howard asked  
“It won’t now you have said it! Of course they won’t nothing ever does let just hope it is something small!” Jason responded.   
“Do you want a cup of tea” Howard offered as he got up  
“No thanks, I am going to go to the gym to burn off the massive breakfast we had!” Jason replied   
“I will join you in a minute” Howard called back.  
Jason sat in the lobby looking at the latest copy of Break dance Mag till Howard came back with his cup of tea They then went up to the gym to pass the time before the show.  
Gary decided to go out and see the sights of Manchester before the show; it had been years since he had last been round Manchester. He barely moved outside of the hotel before he was bombarded with fans asking for an autograph.  
This was the bit that Gary hated about being famous some time he wished that he could walk around without being asked for autographs, it want so bad at home, but when they are on tour it is almost constant unless they went out really early like he does when he goes for a run. Once he had signed a stack of auto graphs he had time to look round on his own. He really missed this city, he went for a stroll to see the church and do some shopping. He followed a party from the church and soon he ended up back at the hotel.

The night got off with the boys being stuck in traffic; as soon as they got into the corridor make-up people were on them trying to get ready in time, the team worked their hardest and managed to make up most of the time. They boys ran to the stage and were only a few minutes late.  
As the boy finished greatest day the confetti canon still hadn't gone off. As the boys came of stage for a costume change Gary said  
“Can this get any worse?  
“Don’t say that!” Jason joked   
They all laughed while working their way into their costumes than raced back the the stage, they couldn't afford to lose any more time. Luckily the rest of the show went without too many hiccups, except when Gary fell up the stairs going up back onto the stage during Patience.


	3. I'll dream a little deeper baby

The next 2 nights in Manchester went in a flash and soon the stage was being taken down, soon it will be like they were never there, the grass had kept growing the whole time they were there. The trucks were loaded up and started on their way to Birmingham.   
Jason and Howard were sat at the back of the tour bus talking about who could eat the hottest food. Mark was asleep and Gary was flicking through the newspapers trying, unsuccessfully to read any more reviews of the tour. Suddenly the bus came to a shuddering stop.  
“That’s not good!” Howard said looking concerned; He rolled his sleeves up and headed towards the front of the bus. Gary and Jason looked at each other and raised their eyebrows  
“This is only going to go badly” Gary said   
“At least he knows what he is doing! Remember he did used to do this as a day job” Jason reminded Gary. Just then there was a series of muffled curse words coming from Howard.  
“But Jay cars have become a lot more sophisticated since the 90s!” Gary said. Howard came in mumbling under his breath, his arms cover in oil, he reached behind the driver’s seat and picked up a copy of the Haynes manual and headed back out flicking thought the pages.  
“Do you think we should go help him? Gary asked  
“Na best to leave him too it, he knows more than the rest of us, I am sure he will work it out” Jason replied. More curse words came drifting through the bus, then the sound of and engine being hit with a spanner. The bus suddenly splurged back in to life, Howard came back in with a triumphant smile on his face  
“If in doubt hit it with a spanner!” Howard said  
“Funny I always thought that it was if in doubt try turning it off and on again!” Gary joked   
“That’s only for computers!” Howard replied as he diapered into the small on bored toilet in an attempt to clean himself up, everyone laughed,   
“Can you 3 keep it down, I am trying to sleep here” Mark mumbled half asleep  
“Did he sleep through that whole thing?” Howard whispered   
“Yep he sleeps like a baby” Gary replied  
“Oi! I can still here you you know! And I’m not sleeping I’m listening, you should try it” Mark mumbled a little louder this time.

The boys arrived in their hotel letter than the rest of the crew, they were all sat waiting for them in the lobby  
“What’s this hotel like then? Howard asked with a smile on his face  
“Not too bad, but there are not mints on the pillows” A member of the crew laughed, they had all spent more time in hotels than they would have liken too.  
“Never mind what the rooms are like, all I care about is what’s for dinner?” Gary said licking his lips everyone laughed.  
“Now I would rather go have a shower before dinner” Howard argued  
“Yes but not all of us spent half the afternoon rooting round in engines” Jason laughed   
“When did Howard do that?” Mark asked  
“Mark we were listening you should try it!” Gary said  
“Ok ok so maybe I was asleep” Mark admitted  
“We knew you were asleep otherwise we wouldn’t have been able to draw that beard on you” Howard said  
“What when did you do that to me” Mark said pulling his phone out and using it as a mirror. He put his phone down and looked over at the boys  
“I knew you hadn’t drawn anything on me”   
“You still cheeked though did you?” Howard pointed out  
“Oh shut up and go have that shower you are so desperate for, I want my dinner!” Gary said  
“OK Ok I’m going I’m going” Howard laughed. 

The boys had a day to themselves while the stage was being reassembles so they decided to got out for lunch  
“Now Gary please don’t spend forever choosing what you want to eat like you did last night coz I’m starving!” Mark said  
“And don’t go choosing everything on the menu, we may have a big budget but it’s not that big!” Jason joked   
“Well Jason make sure you order the hottest food you can because I feel a challenge coming on!” Howard said to Jason  
“Oh not another competition” Gary groaned   
“Gary you know what they are like we can’t take them anywhere!” Mark pointed out  
“At least we not at Nandos, otherwise we would have to to the next show as a 2 piece” Gary agreed.  
“We’re not that bad! Well maybe Howard is!” Jason laughed  
“All this talk of Nandos is making want to go; can we go eat there instead?” Howard asked  
“NO!” The three of them replied in unison  
As the menu arrived Gary began to ponder  
“Oh god we are going to be here for the rest of the day!” Howard said  
“I am just joking with you I am going to have the umm” Gary said looking down the menu  
“Well I am having a salad as long as it is organic” Jason said.  
Once the boys finished their lunch they all went to go see the stage being put up.  
“It is amazing how much work it takes to put the stage up” Mark marvels as the light were being lowered into place  
“It all fits into place so perfectly” Mark continued   
“I am most impressed by the fact that the grass doesn’t die underneath the stage” Gary sail looking at the matting that has been laid beneath their feet. Mark looked back up the stage  
“The lights aren’t right” Mark pointed out, the other looked at him quizzically   
“The spotlight at the end is too far left it is not going to illuminate us properly it will be shining on empty space.” Mark snapped  
“The Lights are controlled by a remote it can be pointed at wherever it needs to be it doesn’t matter of it slightly to the left!” Howard explained. Mark opened his mouth to protest but decided against it, it was no use having a big argument on tour as it just escalates and creates a major rift.  
Mark was still thinking about the imperfection of the Stage when they got back to the hotel they were staying in.  
“Mark are you still thinking about the lights?” Jason asked  
“No no, it’s not just the lights its” Mark began  
“Mark why does everything need to be perfect?” Jason remarked  
“For the fans, I want them to feel like they have got their money’s worth” Mark replied  
“How Many times do you have to be told that they fans are too busy looking at you to notice most things!” Jason laughed  
“A lot!” Mark Smirked


	4. There's a hope everytime there's a sound

Mark was in his hotel room getting ready for the first of a staggering 9 nights at Wembley stadium when his phone rang; it was a number he didn't recognise. He answered it cautiously,

"Hello?"

"Hello is that Mr Owen?" A voice said at the other end,

"Yes, yes it is. Who's calling?" Mark asked still wary.

"My name is Zoe, I am from King Collage hospital," she paused. "I'm sorry to tell you this but Emma has had an accident"

"W-w-what happened?" Mark asked taken aback by this,

"A car mounted the pavement and hit her," Zoe replied.

"Is she badly injured?" Mark asked sounding really worried.

"We are not sure how badly she is injured yet, but we suggest that you come in and see her."

Marks heart sank as he heard this news; he knew it would be near impossible to cancel a show at such short a notice.

"Hello, hello? Mr Owen, are you still there?"

Mark looked down at his phone, he wasn't in the mood to try and talk so he hung up, left the phone on the bed side table curled up on the bed and burst into tears. He lay there for what seemed like hours, the tears had dried up so he just lay there.

In his mind he was debating over what to do, should he let down 80 thousand fan who for some of them it may be there only chance to see them live, many would have travelled hours from all over the south and some may have come from abroad just to see them. On the other hand Emma was lying in a hospital bed with injuries unknown to him; his amazing, beautiful, loving wife was injured. Mark played of the idea of cancelling the show and being able to spend longer with Emma against carrying on with the tour and seeing Emma after and not getting any sleep.

Mark knew that the boys would support him whatever he decided to do, and so would the fans. Never the less he would still feel guilty about cancelling the show and maybe the rest of the tour depending on how bad Emma's injuries are. He felt sick with worry, he was no closer to making a decision but he knew that if he did decide to carry on with the show then he couldn't tell the boys until after otherwise the decision would be taken out of his hands as they want him go see Emma and he needed to make his own decision.

There was a knock on the door   
"5 minutes till me leave" Gary said, Mark tried to compose himself to reply but nothing came out, Gary paused   
"Mark are you ok?"   
"I fine" Mark mumbled unconvincing, Gary new something was wrong but he also knew Mark would be reluctant to talk about it so he decided he would wait until they were in the car on the way to Wembley so walked off to remind Howard and Jason.

Mark heaved himself off the bed and went into the en-suite and washed his face. He shuffled round his room getting everything he needed then headed towards the door he didn't want to let everyone down, he decided not to tell the other boys, he didn't want to worry the others, he knew that they would try and persuade him against performing but Mark didn't want to disappoint there fans by cancelling.

Gary was already waiting in the lobby when Mark arrived, Mark sat on a sofa away from Gary hugging his knees trying to cover his eyes that where red raw from crying. Gary got up and sat next to Mark, putting his arm around Mark, not a word was spoken; Gary knew Mark didn't want to talk about it and he wasn't going to push Mark to talk.

Howard and Jason came down together 10 minutes later; they say Gary and Mark and gave Gary a quizzical look. Gary shook his head that was all that needed saying. They all walked solemnly to the car that would take them to the stadium. Mark lent against the window staring out with his iPod in. The others whispered to each other   
“Do you know what's up with him?" Jason asked   
"No he hasn't said a word" Gary replied   
“why do you think he hasn't told us what's wrong?" Howard wondered out loud   
“I don't think he wants to worry us" Jason suggested.

They arrived at Wembley to see the queue just starting to form Mark knew there was no backing out now, they drew to a halt right outside the back door but they still had to fight their way through a crowd of fans. By the time they reached the dressing room Mark had cleared his mind a little and cheered up, he even managed to laugh a little at Hoards and Jason's bet over who could eat the hottest food. As the time passed Mark became more and more talkative, the other boys relaxed as Mark began to act more like himself. Food came in and out of the dressing room but Mark did not feel like eating so passed it all.

As time ticked down to the show Mark started to get more and more nervous, he started to doubt the decision he made, he regretted not telling the lads but he thought that it was for the best.

“Mark are you felling ok? You look very pale” Dawn inquired looking quizzical. Mark snapped out of the daydream he was in and looked at Dawn, she was already in her costume ready for the start of the show.  
“I’m fine, I am just a bit nervous, the thought of 9 nights in a row is a bit daunting” Mark mumbled trying to sound as if he meant it. He knew it wasn’t convincing, he didn’t think that he would be able to do the show as he felt so sick with worry he thought that he was going to collapse.  
“Why don’t you grab yourself something to drink and have a bite to eat, I haven’t seen you eat anything since you got here” Dawn said passing Mark a sandwich. He took it reluctantly but took a bite because he knew he would not be left alone if he didn’t. He looked over at Dawn and smiled; Dawn looked unconvinced but left him to go find Gary.   
Mark took a few more bights and forced himself to swallow them; he struggled to keep them down.  
“Mark it’s your turn in makeup” Howard came over to Mark “are you sure you’re felling ok? You look really down”  
“I’m fine, the tour is starting to take its toll on me and, well I’m a bit nervous about the 8 nights we are doing” Mark replied quietly and made his way over to make up.  
Howard went over go Gary “Something is really wrong with Mark, he not acting like himself and his insisting nothing’s wrong” Howard sounded really concerned  
“But you know how secretive he can be sometimes” Gary said trying to come across relaxed  
“Yes but he is never normally this secretive, he seems really upset, he hasn’t uttered a word and that is not like Mark” Jason added  
“But we can’t push him to tell us what’s, if he is not telling us something he will have a reason, he probably doesn’t think it will affect us.” Howard pointed out.  
“I just hope he will tell us what’s wrong for the sake of himself” Jason said wishfully.  
As Mark sat in makeup he realised that he needed to tell someone otherwise they would worry were he was while he was with Emma. As left he went to go find Jonathan to tell him. A he approached Jonathan could tell Mark was upset   
“Mark are you ok?”  
“Yer I’m fine” Mark sighed  
“It’s Emma that’s not ok”  
“What happened?” Jonathan asked sounded very concerned both for Emma and Mark  
“She has had an accident” Mark paused to gather his thoughts  
“A car lost control and hit her while she was walking on the pavement”  
“Are YOU ok?” Jonathan inquired  
“I don’t know” Mark said trying not to cry   
“Do you want me to cancel the show?”   
“No no! I couldn’t do that, It’s just I am going to go see her after the show and I thought that I better tell someone in case I was needed and you don’t know where I was” Mark said urgently  
“Is there anything I can do? I could organise a car to take you straight to the hospital? Or I could” Jonathan started  
“A car would be good, but other than that you don’t need to do anything” Mark interrupted  
“Oh you poor think” Jonathan said as he hugged Mark “How do you do it?”  
“I don’t know, I really don’t know” Mark said as he turned round to go back to the dressing room. He felt much better for telling someone, a smile creped across his face.  
As he reached the dressing room he could here whispers from inside, he know the boys were worried about him but he still felt as if he couldn’t tell them. He took a deep breath and walked in.  
The boys could see the change in Mark when he came back in; he was laughing and smiling again. The call came through to say that it was time to get to the stage. Mark started to have second doubts about whether or not he would make it through the show. Somehow Gary managed to pick up on this and came and gave him a hug.   
The crowd started to count down and the boys got ready for their grand entrance. One Mark got onto stage he relaxed even more and enjoyed started to enjoy himself, all was going well until I’d wait for life. As Gary started singing   
“There's a voice shouting inside my head  
There's a space on your side of the bed  
There's a hope every time there's a sound  
There's a silence that's playing too loud”  
Mark started to shake, as he provided the harmonies for the chorus his voice wavered, the sadness was clear in his voice, he felt like he was going to collapse, he had let his guard down, he felt as if he had let the crowd down. Jason took Marks hand and squeezed it for support.   
The show just got worse and worse, Mark started to over analyse every lyric he heard finding ways in which they relate to his feelings. In a costume break Mark tried to calm himself down, he had to sit down and try to clear his head and focused on the show again, he had to keep it together for Shine.  
As he got back on the stage he was still shaking but he was determined not to let himself down and to make it through shine. He heard the distinctive guitar he took a deep breath and tried to put a smile on his face. All too soon the uplifting melody had lifted Mark’s spirits and he was dancing around with a true smile on his face and the adrenalin had kicked in.   
The remainder of the night when without to many hiccups and the Thank you came out of Mark's mouth without him noticing. Finally it hit him just how serious his situation was and all the emotion came out in a huge wave; he had to fight to keep the tear back, this was not helped by the walk along the barrier, seeing the crowd having such a good time helped to relive the feeling of guilt for leaving Emma to do the show but it also make him realise just how scared he was about acutely going to see how badly injured Emma was.  
Jonathan was there to meet Mark as he left the stage “a car is waiting outside for you whenever you are ready for it. Do you want someone to come with you to see her?” Jonathan asked trying to be helpful  
“No, I would rather go by myself” Mark said absentmindedly  
“One more thing, have you told anyone else what had happened?” Jonathan asked, Mark cringed, he know Jonathan thought that he would have told the boys  
“No, not yet” Mark sighed  
“Do you want me to do it?”  
“No, it would be better if I did it; I just wanted to see Emma before I told them so I had a better idea as to what to do” Mark said as he walked down the corridor purposely. Jonathan took Marks shoulder  
“Are you sure there is nothing more I can do?” Jonathan said looking into Marks eyes  
“I am sure” Mark replied, his face tired and expressionless.   
Mark grabbed his clothes and walked straight to the car. One he was alone he let his guard down and let out all the tears he had been keeping in.


	5. If I close my eyes

Gary sent Mark a text “Are you sure you are ok” Mark wanted to reply and tell Gary everything but he know he couldn’t do it by text so he took the plunge and called him  
“Mark what’s up?” Gary picked up imminently as if he had been waiting for the call, Mark sighed  
“It’s Emma” Mark said then paused  
“Oh god is, is she ok?” Gary asked before Mark had a chance to go on  
“She has had been hit by a car”   
“Oh Mark, why didn’t you tell us?” Gary asked sounding confused  
“I, I, I just didn’t want to worry you” Mark replied quietly   
“You know you can always tell us, we would of cancelled the show”  
“I didn’t want to cancel the show”  
“Well you could have still told us, we were all really worried about you”  
“I know I know, I should have told you but I thought that I was doing the right think at the time, I wasn’t thinking strait” Mark said   
“Well at least you have told me now, is there anything you want me to do?”  
“Can you not tell Howard and Jason?”  
“Of course but why?”  
“I want to tell them myself, I have got to go now as I am hospital”  
“Ok but can you do one thing for me? Look after yourself”

After Mark hung up Gary turned to Howard and Jason  
“Well I know why he is so upset” Gary sighed  
“What’s wrong?” Jason asked  
“He didn’t want me to tell you” Gary started  
“Why?” Howard interrupted  
“He wanted to tell you himself in the morning”  
“Is he not coming back tonight then?” Jason asked  
“I assume not, all I know is that I wouldn’t have been able to do a show if that had happened to me” Gary said  
“I don’t know how he does half the stuff he does” Jason 

Mark didn’t know what to expect as he walked towards the hospital. He was met by a nurse who prepared him for what he was going to see.  
“Mr Owen?”  
“Yes, Hello”  
“Just to prepare you Emma is bruised and there is a big swelling on her forehead, most her injuries are internal, are you sure you are ready?”  
“Yes, I ready”  
Mark followed the nurse along a series of corridors, the longer he followed the more nervous he got; he started to worry that he would lose his beloved wife. Finally they reached the intensive care room were Emma was. Mark held back as the nurse opened the door, he was shaking but walked in slowly.  
Emma lay motionless except the rise and fall of her chest controlled by a ventilator, her face was badly bruised and there was a swelling the size of a tennis ball over he left eye. The Nurse that had greeted left but not before speaking to the nurse that was looking after Emma. Mark was still stood at the door, almost as motionless as Emma. The nurse came over and explained the situation further  
“She has some brain injury but we are not sure to what extent it is, we have put her in an induced comer to allow her to brain to recover”  
“Will the brain injury change her in any way” Mark questioned  
“We don’t know” The Nurse replied, she walked up to Mark and helped him over to a seat next to Emma’s bed.  
As Mark sat down the day had caught up with him and suddenly he felt like he was going to fall asleep but he didn’t want to sleep while Emma was lying there. Another nurse came in and walked over to Mark   
“Is there any think I can get you?” She asked  
“No, I’m fine I don’t need anything”  
“If you do need anything just talk to us as were are here to help you as well as to help Emma” Mark nodded. 

Howard and Jason tried to prise some more information from Gary as they were on their way back to the hotel, Gary said nothing  
“Can’t you even give us a little information?” Howard quizzed Gary  
“NO! Mark asked me not to tell you” Gary insisted  
“Come on Gary you know you want to tell us” Jason pledged   
“All I am going to say is we may have to cancel the tour”  
“It must be bad than!” Howard said sounding shocked  
“Did he say say he wanted to cancel the tour?” Jason asked  
“No he said he wanted to keep going with it but I don’t think he will, he defiantly won’t be able to carry on to do the Europe leg of the tour” Gary said as the pulled up at the hotel   
“I just hope Mark is ok” Jason said as he got out.

As the night wore on the nurse did regular observations on Emma and getting Mark the occasional cup of tea. Outside the hospital was a hive of activity but Mark didn’t notice he just sat next to Emma drifting in and out of sleep only woken by the nurse asking Emma to squeeze her hand. As the night shift changed to the day shift Mark pulled himself from him Emma to go outside, get some fresh air and check his phone. As he turned it on the phone flooded with messages, he shifted through them choosing which ones to read in the limited time he could spend away from Emma. His mined wandered back to Emma and he couldn’t concentrate on anything, he took a deep breath of fresh air, it felt good, he turned his phone off and headed back up to Emma’s room.  
Gary hadn’t slept well, he had been worried about Mark, he reached over to look at his phone nothing from Mark, he lifted his phone up ready to text Mark but stopped as he realised that there was no point, Mark wouldn’t have his phone turned on. He put it down again. Normally Gary would go for a run but he didn’t feel like going for a run today instead he turned the TV on. The news came blaring out but Gary wasn’t concentration on it, he started channel hopping until he ended back on the news just as the entertainment section started  
“Take That started the last leg of their UK tour yesterday, our entertainment correspondent Katie Happy there” The anchor man introduced  
“Yes Hello. Take That kicked of a staggering 9 nights at Wembley Stadium last night. This is the last leg of their UK tour before they take a short brake and start the 2nd leg in Europe later this month” Gary turned off, he couldn’t bear to listen any more.

There was a knock at Emma’s door, the nurse looked over at Mark, he nodded, the nurse went and opened the door. Jonathan walked in, his eyes looked straight over to Emma, a look of shock came over his face. He walked over to Mark  
“I came over to pick you up, but but you don’t have to come if you don’t want to” Jonathan stuttered, still in a state of shock from the extent of Mark injuries  
“No, no I will come, I don’t want to let the fans down” Mark said still looking at Emma. When his did look up his eyes were tear stained and full of worry, he glanced over at the nurse  
“We will contact you if anything changes, you go and try and enjoy yourself” The nurse said smiling. Mark gave Emma’s hand a kiss before he got up and walked over to the door slowly. As he reached the door he looked back before he quietly pulled the door closed and walked with Jonathan to the car  
“Are you sure you want to carry on with the show?” Jonathan asked  
“I want to carry on with the show” Mark replied sounding annoyed. He huddled down in the corner of the car thinking of how he was going to tell Howard and Jason without hurting their feelings for not telling them earlier. Soon the car pulled up next to the stadium. Mark took a deep breath, he knew that he would be questioned, not Just from Jason and Howard but from the rest of the crew. As Mark walked into the dressing room he was surprised by the fact that everyone just got on with the preparations, Only Gary came up to Mark   
“How are you feeling?” Gary asked  
“I’m ok, Tired and worried but ok” Mark lied  
“Where are Howard and Jason?”  
“There are just over there” Gary pointed overt to the corner of the room were Howard and Jason were playing cards  
“Do you want me to come with you?” Gary asked but Mark was already walking over. Howard and Jason looked up as Mark walked over  
“Are you ok” Howard asked standing up. Mark took a deep breath  
“Emma was hit by a car yesterday” Mark started Howard and Jason gasped  
“She was a few external injuries but she is currently in an induced coma and has some brain damage” Mark said trying not to cry.  
“Oh Mark, why didn’t you tell us earlier?” Jason said   
“I don’t know, I wasn’t sure what to do, I thought I was doing the right thing, I didn’t want you to worry” Mark said apologetically. Gary walked over and put his arm around Mark   
“You are so brave for carrying on, if it every gets too much just tell us, now have you had anything to eat?” Gary said reassuringly  
“I have had the hospital have been giving me food all night” Mark lied, he has only eaten an apple during the night, we couldn’t eat.   
“If you are sure, you need to make sure you like after yourself” Gary reminded. Mark quickly changed the subject  
“I better go get ready otherwise I will be late” Mark said quickly  
“What’s new there than” Jason remarked  
“Mark you are worse than me at being on time!” Howard laughed but they left Mark to get on.   
By the time they were just about to go on stage Mark had got a bit of sleep and was feeling refreshed. As they walked on Gary gave Marks had a reassuring squeeze. The night went well, the crowd loved it and Mark managed to make it through without becoming too upset or worried. Every costume change Mark checked him phone, through Mark smiled each time he saw that he had nothing from the hospital.   
As soon of the show had finished Mark rushed back to the hospital where he spent another night trying to grab any sleep he can.

By the time they had done 4 nights at Wembley the lack of sleep was taking its toll on Mark, he began tripping over things and his hands starting shaking.  
“Are you sure you are ok to do the show tonight” Gary asked after Mark had tripped over what seemed to be nothing   
“Yes I am fine” Mark snapped rubbing his head; he had had a headache all day. As ever Gary was unconvinced but he didn’t have time to worry as it was time to start the show.   
Mark was struggling as he started the show and things only got worse. By the time they had reached Shine Mark was struggling to stand, he gripped his mic stand, his hand going white. He used all his energy to stay standing.  
By the time it got to I’d wait for life Mark couldn’t stand any more he could feel himself falling. 

Jason looked over when he heard the crash to see Mark lying in the middle of the stage. A gasp came up from the crowd.   
Mark’s eyes flutter open briefly, he say 3 faces looking over him, they was quickly joined by a face he didn’t recognise.  
“Mark how many fingers am I holding up?” the new face the new face inquired. Mark did his best to concentrate but the fingers were moving around and kept disappearing then reappearing.  
“Um um 3?” Mark whispered sounding confused. The new face, which unknown to Mark was the paramedic look concerned and turned and started rummaging through his bag. Mark closed his eyes again.   
The paramedic and 3 other crew members carried Mark of stage in a stretcher while Howard, Jason and Gary stayed on stage; all the time mumbles through the crowed grew louder. Gary coughed into his microphone to get the crowds attention  
“We are sorry about this folks we will be back in a moment please bear with us,” And with that the boys when backstage.  
“What happed to him?” Howard asked the paramedic  
“I don’t know it think it was just sheer exhaustion” The paramedic explained.   
Jonathon came running up to Gary   
“What happened?” He begged  
“Mark collapsed on stage I don’t know why none of us do” Gary Stammered running his hand through his hair. Jonathan sighed  
“What are we going to do about the rest of the show? Jonathon asked sounding stressed  
“Well we could do the rest of the show as a 3 peace we have done it before?” Gary suggested. Jason walked towards them  
“Are you talking about what to do about the show?” He asked  
“Yer”   
“How abut we ask the fans what they want to do?” The ever rational Jay suggested  
“I mean we are going to have to go back up there to explain what is happening about Mark and we might as well give them what they want” He continued  
The sounds like a good plan” Gary said needing his head  
“Well then let’s go find Howard” Jason said wandering off.

A few minutes later the 3 of them were back up on stage to the delight of the audience   
“Mark has been taken off in an ambulance, He has some concussion but he will be fine, Now you have the choice, We can carry on as a 3 piece or we can reschedule the show or we can cancel the rest of the show and give you your money back” Gary proposed  
“The Choice it up to you, what do you want to do?” Howard asked. There was an over welling cry of postpone the show.   
“That wasn’t one of the options, it was reschedule the show” Jason joked  
“Ok then, Keep your eyes peeled to the website and your emails and we will keep you updated, Thank you and goodnight” Gary addressed the crowd. They boys then left the stage for the last time for quite a while.


	6. Chapter 6

Mark heard laughter, it sounded like Emma  
“Emma” He called out. She popped up in front of him; she was in her warmest coat and a snow ball in her hand,  
“Where have you been I have been waiting here for ages?” She giggled. Mark was confused, Emma looked so young. Suddenly he was hit by a snow ball he looked to see Emma hiding behind the tree. He picked up a hand full of snow and compacted it into perfectly symmetrical ball and headed towards the tree. He peaked behind the tree to see her running away, he through the snow ball and hit her square in the back, she stopped and picked up some more snow. He ducked then chased Emma round slipping over in the proses.  
Mark groaned, his head was heavy, be teased his eyes open, he was met with harsh light. He groaned and closed his eyes again  
“Mark?” a voice drifted back to Mark, he open his eyes a crack again.  
“Oh Mark” It was Gary; Gary was calling his name but why? He thought to himself  
“Where am I?” Mark mumbled weekly  
“You are in hospital” Gary replies  
“Emma, Where’s Emma” Mark called Sitting strait up and instantly regretting, he called out in pain.  
“Take it easy” Gary said  
“Emma is still in hospital and as far as I know she is fine. Do you remember what happened?”  
“I was having a snowball fight with Emma, we were at home, then I woke up here” Mark dazed  
“Mark it is the middle of summer, we were at Wembley in the middle of a concert, you collapsed” Gary explained   
“Did I?” Mark said untrustingly   
“My head it hurts”   
“I am not surprised! You went down with quite a bang, you need to rest, I will go get a nurse.”   
By the time Gary got back Mark was fast asleep, the nurse when to wake him up  
“Mark I need you to answer some question, can you do that for me?” There was a mumble as a response  
“Can you tell me what day it is?”  
“Tuesday?” Mark mumbled   
“Hm Ok” The nurse said making notes  
“Can you tell me the Month?”  
“July” Mark responded with a bit more confidence   
“Very good, last one, what is your name?”  
“Mark Anthony Patrick Owen”  
“Thank you” The nurse made a few more notes then left. Within a few minutes Mark was fast asleep again. Gary got and left quietly.   
Mark was lying on the beach this time; Emma was swimming in the sea. She was getting further and further out, Mark stood looking over at Emma, She was beckoning Mark to come over to her. He walked toward the sea and starting swimming out but the further into the sea he swam the further away she got. He swam faster. Faster. Faster still. He paused and glanced back at the shore, he could no longer see it. Looking forward he could see Emma She was swimming towards him  
“Hey what took you so long?” She called out diving under the water towards him.  
“I would have been quicker if you hadn’t keep swimming away from me” Mark laughed  
“Catch me if you can” Emma bellowed appearing to the left of Mark then disappearing again. Mark dived under the water straining his eyes open against the sting of the salty water. Emma was nowhere to be seen. He burst back up to the surface scanning around for any sign of her.  
“Emma?” He called out pancaking. He stared zigzagging looking all over looking in all directions. As more and more time passed Mark became more and more stressed. He dived back down one more time, he keep diving and diving.  
Mark woke up with a start, it was pitch black and Mark was dripping with sweat. He sat up slowly, his head still felt groggy but it felt better than before. He turned over and found that his arm constrained by a drip. He was sure it wasn’t there earlier, but then he wasn’t sure about anything that had happened earlier. He sighed tried to get himself as combatable as possible and ley awake staring and the celling till he finally fell asleep again.

Gary sat down on the bed of the hotel room, Dawn looked up   
“How is he?”   
“Not good, he was very confused and tired but they wouldn’t have been help by the morphine he had had” Gary sighed   
“When will you know what is happening with the tour?”  
“Well we are having a meeting tomorrow to see when all the venues are free again and what to say in the press conference, and then if Mark is feeling well enough we will run it past him to see what he thinks about it all” Gary explained  
“Why do you think he collapsed” Dawn asked  
“I don’t know they wouldn’t tell me but I think it was because he hadn’t been getting much sleep as he had been spending all night with Emma”  
“Why didn’t he just say that he couldn’t do the show?”  
“Because it’s Mark, he didn’t want to let the fans down!” Gary exclaimed   
“He never does, he is the sweetest man he really is”

Mark managed to get a few hours of uninterrupted sleep. He was finally woken by a nurse coming in to check on him  
“How are you feeling Mr Owen?”  
“Wired, my head feels groggy”  
“That’s fairly normal you have sustained a head trauma and have had some morphine, which always does strange thing to your head, I just need to ask you ask you a few question”   
“Ok but can I also ask you some question?”   
“Of course”  
“Where’s Emma, I need to see her”  
“All in good time Mr Owen, We need to make sure that you are well” A Look of anger grew on his face.  
“There’s no use getting angry, I will ask about Mrs Owen condition when I have finished with you ok?”  
Mark sighed but agreed  
“Ok first question. What day is it?”  
“Sunday” Mark replied confidently  
“Who is the president of America?”  
“Barack Obama”   
“Ok and what is the last thing you remember before you came here?”  
I remember coming from here in the car to the stadium and getting ready for the show, then it goes blank”  
“And when was the last time you ate something?”  
“I am not sure”  
“Ok and when was the last time you slept for a decent amount of time?”  
“That would be about 4 days ago”   
“Ok Very good, I will go and check on Emma for you”  
“Thank you” Mark mumbled as the nurse placed his notes back at the end of his bed 

Gary, Jason, Howard and a wide variety of representative and crew member were all gathered around a table discussing plans for the postponed tour. There were conversation flying all around the room  
“How will we know when Mark will be ready to tour again?”  
“Where is the stage going to go while we wait?”  
“And what are we going to do about the musician other commitments they have?  
“OK GUYS WE NEED TO TALK TOGETHE NOT AMUNGS OURSELVES!” Gary Bellowed   
“Ok first thing, when will Mark be ready to perform again? Well He will be ready when Emma leaves hospital” Gary started  
“When will that be though?” One of the musicians asked  
“Now that I am not sure about as Mark kept it very shielded it form us but I reckon that if we do it for 3 months then we should be ok, but I will ask Mark when I go see him later”  
“But what about fixtures that we already have booked in” A representative from Wembley mentioned   
“Then we will try and work around you” Howard added. The meaning lasted about an hour with and compromise was reached by all parties. There was a discussion between Howard and Gary as to who was going to see Mark   
“Gary you went to see him yesterday, you don’t have to feel like you need to go, I will go” Howard insisted  
“But I said to him that I would go see him” Gary stated  
“Do you think he will remember that you said you would go visit him? From what you told me I don’t think he will” Howard remarked  
“You two we have been compromising all morning and now you two are arguing over who is going to visit Mark! How about I go and see Mark then Howard you can go see him tomorrow” Jason suggested  
“Jason what would we do without you? You are the voice of reason” Howard Smirked 

Mark was sat his bed side looking down his head between his knees. The door to his room creaked open, Mark looked up expecting to see a doctor coming in instead it was Jason; Mark looked down again without making eye contact. Jason sat down next to Mark and put his arm around him, Mark collapsed into Jason, sobbing. They sat there for 5 minutes before Jason lifted Mark's torso off his shoulder and looked him in the eye, Mark's eyes were empty, his spark had gone.   
"A proverb once said that everything will be alright in the end and if it is not alright then it isn't he end, there is no need to get upset, if it about cancelling the tour then don’t worry everyone understands”   
“I know Gary said yesterday”  
“And anyway we have had a meeting about the tour” Jason said looking around the room Mark was in  
“Oh yer how did it go?” Mark said wiping his eyes  
“Well it went really. We hope to get back on the road in about 3 months providing we can get the venues or replacement venues” Jason informed Mark  
“Why 3 months, why so long?”  
“Because we want to make sure that you and Emma are both ok”  
“But what about all the musicians?” Mark asked  
“Don’t worry are in the possesses of sorting it all out”  
“But”  
“Do you ever stop worrying?” Jason joked. Mark sat silent for a moment   
“What did you do about the rest of the show?” Mark said thoughtfully   
“We gave the fans a choice of what to do and the majority chose to postpone the show so that is what we did”  
“Why didn’t you carry on as a 3 piece?”   
“Because the fans wanted up to postpone the show, they were more worried about you than they were about the show. Mark, are fans care about us and want to do the best for us and that makes them the best fans in the world”  
“They can rule the world!” Mark laughed   
“By the way how is Emma?” Jason inquired  
“I don’t know I haven’t been allowed to go see her but I have been told that there has been no change” Mark said looking down again  
“Now Mr Owen that all about to change” Said the Doctor  
“Sorry to interrupt but I feel that you are ready to leave, but I am sure that you won’t be going far” A huge smile crept across Marks face; it was one of happiness and relief. After the Doctor left Jason took Marks hand,   
“Well then I better be off I will see you later” Jason cheered   
“Oh and do you need anything, clothes, food?”  
“Cloths would be good” Mark replied  
“Great I will get Howard to bring your suitcase along tomorrow as he was very eager to come see you” Jason joked the left.


	7. But I know I love you still

Mark sat back down next to Emma’s bed, he felt all the worry that he has keep pent up over the last two days vanished, as a sense of relief come over him as he realised that he could spend as much time with Emma as he needed. He began singing softly to her, barley pausing to breath, his eyes were closed as memories came flooding back, a single tear fell from his eyes and landed on Emma’s hand. Unseen by Mark her hand flinched as the tear hit her skin. Her eyes flickered open, she focused on Mark, and raised her hand to wipe the tear away. Mark’s opened his eyes and looked up to see a small smile on Emma’s face. It lasted but a moment before Emma shut her eyes again. It was obvious from Emma’s next few observations that she was now exhausted. Mark was so happy about this progress that he could barely sleep, but soon he was fast asleep. He was back in the sea; Emma was still swimming away from him. He started swimming again he was getting faster and faster, the distance between the two of them dropped and soon Mark was by Emma’s side again.

The next morning Howard came to visit as promised   
“How are you felling?” Howard asked  
“Much better! All I needed was some sleep”  
“A very dramatic way to get some more sleep” Howard joked   
“Yes well I didn’t exactly plan on being dramatic!”  
“Well all that matters is that you are recovering just like Emma, Have there been any improvements?   
“Yes she opened her eyes and lifted her hand up yesterday” Mark said ecstatically   
“That is mint” Howard replied. Howard looked down at his side and remembered that had a bag of chocolate éclairs in his hand to give to Mark  
“Oh here I got these for you, seeing as you seem to like eating nine of them so much!” Howard said tossing Mark the bag  
“Thanks!” Mark replied giggling called after Howards as he left

Emma continued to improve over the next few days, she even managed to say Marks name, these efforts still exhausted her but it was enough to warrant her to move out of intensive care and into a room of her own. The days kept drifting on with visitors drifting in and out, Mark barely seemed to notice them anymore. A Week after Emma had spoken for the first time Emma had a semi coherent with Mark.

“Mark” Emma whispered with her eyes still closed  
“Yes darling “  
“Why am I here?” This was the most words she had said but Mark was worried, they had warned him about this, giving way too much information could overwhelm her  
“You had an accident” Mark replied cautiously   
“What kind of accident?”   
“It involved a car”  
“Was I driving?”  
“No”  
“Oh good I was worried that it was going to affect my no-claims bonus” Emma said before drifting back to sleep.  
The days merged as Mark sat with Emma day after day only leaving to update people about how she was doing or to get some food. Drips and monitors removed gradual till eventual she was just left with none. Emma was allowed to get out of bed slowly, with support from Mark and a nurse. Any time Emma wasn’t asleep or building up her strength she was looking longingly out the window. Mark came back from making them both a cup of tea and caught her staring. He placed the tea down next to her trying not to disturbed her   
“Do you want to go outside?”  
“Yes so much, I miss the feel of the wind on my skin, the birds calling out and enchanting me with their song, she smell of freshly cut grass and the warmth of the sun on my face”  
“I am sure I can sort something out for you” He said leaning over her and kissing her softly on the head .He walked out of the room and over to the nurses desk. Emma could see him from her bed  
She sighed   
“I really do have the most wonderful husband” Emma thought.  
Mark came back beaming followed by a nurse  
“Are you ready to go outside?” Mark asked   
“Yes” Emma replied   
“I will go get you a wheelchair; we don’t want you you exhausting yourself to much!” The nurse laughed.   
Emma to a deep breath in, it felt good to be outside again. Mark felt good too. The sun was shining lastly filling the air with sound; the Garden the nurse had let to them was small but quite, full of flower of all different colours. The was a long pause  
“This is the kind of place that I imagine when I sing the garden” Mark said softly   
“And who do you think about?” Emma asked  
“Who do you think?” Mark replied than started singing the garden   
“You sang this to me, while I was asleep” Emma said quietly still looking at all the birds  
“Yes, I was thinking about all the good times we had”  
“You were worried about me” Emma said looking into Mark’s eyes  
“Of course I was!” Mark splutter  
“Now I am worried about you”  
“Why, why would you need to be worried about me?” Mark asked  
“You are so pale, you have lost so much wait and you look so tired” Emma observed   
“Well I am pale as I have been inside for weeks and I suppose stress would account for the weight loss and tiredness.”  
“You always worry about everyone else that you forget to worry about yourself, you need someone to look out for you” Emma said  
“I have someone though” Mark started looking into Emma’s eyes  
“I have you” He kissed Emma  
“You are shivering, shall we go back inside?” Mark asked  
“Yes” Emma said still enchanted by Mark’s words


End file.
